Cross posted to sci.engr.metallurgy
In a discussion on another site, a metallurgy question came up.
(Quoted on
The Bible (Exodus 32:20) recounts that Moses burned, then ground the Golden Calf. One commentator (Ibn Ezra) states that 'burned' doesn't mean 'melted' as one might have thought (given that the Calf was Gold), but that there is a substance that when inserted into a fire with gold makes it irreversibly black. Does anyone know what this substance is?
Thanks for your help, Michael Kopinsky